1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chain configured by alternately arranging in a shifted position by a half pitch in a chain longitudinal direction first plate rows and second plate rows including a plurality of plates arranged in parallel in a chain width direction, with these rows being bendably coupled to one another, and also relates to a chain guide plate used for the chain.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a chain 500 configured by, as shown in FIG. 10, alternately arranging in a shifted position by a half pitch in a chain longitudinal direction, first plate rows 510 including a plurality of plates 520 and 530 arranged in parallel in a chain width direction and second plate rows 540 including a plurality of plates 550 arranged in parallel in the chain width direction, with these rows being bendably coupled with one another with coupling pins 560 (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-238597 (Patent Literature 1)).
As a guide method for the chain 500, various methods are known. As one of the methods, there is known a method of setting an outer side guide on the outer side of a chain traveling track and bringing rear surfaces (end faces on a chain bending outer circumferential side) of the plates 520, 530, and 550 into slide contact with a shoe surface of the outer side guide. However, to set the outer side guide, it is necessary to secure an attachment space for the outer side guide on the outer side of the chain traveling track. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to use the outer side guide depending on an environment of use of the chain 500.
As another guide method for the chain 500, it is also known to set an idler sprocket halfway in the chain traveling track. However, it is sometimes difficult to use the idler sprocket in terms of a setting space and costs because, for example, it is necessary to set a sprocket shaft and a bearing mechanism to set the idler sprocket.
Therefore, as a method of solving the problems of the setting space and the costs in using the outer side guide and the idler sprocket explained above, there is known a method of, as shown in FIG. 11, setting an inner side guide G on the inner side of the chain traveling track, bringing guide slide contact sections 524 formed on a chain bending inner circumferential side of guide plates 520 into slide contact with a shoe surface G1 of the inner side guide G, and guiding the chain 500.
However, when the chain 500 is guided using the inner side guide G, in the conventional chain 500, as shown in FIG. 11, spaces D are formed among the guide slide contact sections 524 of the guide plates 520. Therefore, during chain traveling, the plurality of guide slide contact sections 524 intermittently collide with the shoe surface G1 of the inner side guide G. Noise occurs because of the intermittent collision.